Solar Powered Tiny Travelling Home

Dog trainer Julie Olson found herself in need of a mobile home, so she decided to build a tiny house on wheels. Olson has no architecture training herself, so she made the plans that detailed everything that she wanted her home to have, and sent them to Jason Dietz of Molecule Tiny Homes. It took him about two months to build Olson a home that was in keeping with her specifications. These included 2 loft areas, one of which was to be used as a bedroom, and the other for storage. Olson also wanted a fold out porch, storage stairs, a bathroom and a closet.

The resulting mobile tiny home measures 136-square-feet and is able to provide complete off-the-grid living. It is powered by a rooftop-mounted photovoltaic solar panel, solar batteries, a propane gas tank and a tankless on demand water heater. The home can also easily be hooked up to existing power and water lines. The bathroom is fitted with a composting toilet, as well as a tub, tiny sink and an escape hatch which offers great nature views. The water coming from the tiny home is grey water, which can be used to water a garden, or disposed of by hooking up the home to a city sewer.

The interior is paneled with birch wood paneling, which is quite rigid, and able to withstand the constant movement associated with road travel. The paneling is finished with mineral oils, which works just as well as more toxic wood stain alternatives. The entire kitchen was custom built from wood, since using tiles or any other type of stone in a mobile home is not a good idea due to the fact that it might crack or break on the road. A lot of the fixtures, such as the bathroom and kitchen sinks, were actually purchased from an RV supplier store, since the size is right for a tiny home as well.

The home also has a regular staircase, which makes it easy to get to the loft bedroom. To maximize the available space, a series of storage spaces was built into the side of the staircase. The sleeping loft is 8 by 6 feet, which is big enough for a queen size bed. The tiny house also has vaulted ceilings to appear more spacious. The home has a lot of large windows, to let in as much light as possible, and dispel the feeling of claustrophobia from living in such a tiny home. The ventilation is aided by a ceiling fan that works well to move the air around the house, aided by the wind tunnel created when the windows on both sides of the tiny home are opened.

The tiny house cost $45,000 to build, though Dietz is certain, that this number could be halved if the owner built the home themselves. Part of the reason small homes on wheels cost more per square foot than regular tiny homes, is because road travel requires them to have additional structural support in place. The process of building this tiny home has also inspired Olson to learn how to become a tiny house builder herself. Her plan is to build a bigger house for herself in the next five to seven years.